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Native to western Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, figs (Ficus carica L.) work well in home gardens where you can enjoy their large leaves, gnarly trunks and sweet fruit. Fig trees perform best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7a through 11, with well draining soil and prolonged high temperatures. Overall, the trees are fast-growing, allowing you to plant them in containers or in the ground.

Height

While figs can grow up to 50 feet tall, most grow between 10 to 30 feet high and wide. However, in colder climates, the wood can freeze, causing the trees to be smaller. Planted in containers and kept pruned, figs grow to only about 10 feet tall. “Mission” grows into a large tree, “Improved Brown Turkey” provides a small garden tree, while “Black Jack,” offers an easily pruned container tree.

Growth Habits

Large fig trees often spread wider than the height of the tree, owing partly to their habit of growing with multiple branches if you let them go without pruning. Branches are typically low-growing unless you prune them to be higher. As the trees age, their bark becomes more and more gnarled, with large tumors forming where branches have fallen or been removed. Figs are deciduous and lose their large, 4- to 9-inch deeply-lobed leaves in the winter.

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Fruit Growth

Most home-grown figs produce two fruit crops per year, with the spring or early summer crop growing on the last season's branches and the second crop maturing in the fall on new growth. Fig trees that produce figs for eating fresh do not need pollinating to produce fruit, while trees that produce figs for drying, such as “Calimyrna” or “Smyrna,” need both male and female trees to produce figs. Commercial fig growers keep trees for 12 to 15 years, but home growers can continue harvesting smaller crops when the trees are over 50 years old.

Growing New Trees

You can grow a fig tree from the seed of a dried fig, but you'll be more assured of success with a plant from your nursery. Figs produce fruit within one year from planting. It's also easy to start new trees from cuttings or by notching low-growing branches and allowing them to form roots where the notch touches the ground, a process called ground-layering. Home growers frequently find “volunteer” fig trees sprouting up unexpectedly near to an existing tree.

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About the Author

Susan Lundman began writing about her passions of cooking, gardening, entertaining and recreation after working for a nonprofit agency, writing grants and researching child development issues. She has written professionally for six years since then. Lundman received her M.A. from Stanford University.